High-speed PC cards turbocharge mobile data

Recent dramatic increases in the data transfer speeds achieved by wireless PC card modems will produce an explosion in uptake of the devices over the next five years, according to a newly published study from ABI Research.

The analyst predicts that the advent of 3G wireless platforms, able to offer speeds almost comparable to wired DSL connections, means a vastly greater incentive for consumers to buy and use such cards, especially business consumers and field service personnel.

ABI noted that, before the development of such 3G products, the best speed that could be achieved by a PC card modem in a notebook computer could be compared to a dial-up wired connection, resulting in market demand that was "lacklustre at best".

According to ABI analyst Brian Pellegrini, the arrival of 3G PC card modems will create a market expansion over the next few years.

"We expect to see a huge and sudden increase in demand for PC card modem devices. Shipments in Europe and the US will begin to grow dramatically, although Asian growth will be more modest," said Pellegrini.

"We forecast that by 2010, the size of the PC card modem market will reach approximately 10 times its 2003 levels."